Loosefill, both plastic (expanded polystyrene) and starch-based, is a common cushioning material used to protect, during shipping, an item packed in a box or carton. The loosefill is shipped from the manufacturer to the customer, for example mail order house, in tractor trailers. Once at the customer, the loosefill must be removed from the trailer and stored by the customer for eventual use.
The present practice of unloading the trailer of the loosefill involves the truck driver or operator using a suction hose, normally 8-10 inches in diameter, to suck the loosefill from the trailer through the hose to a storage net in the customer's building. That person slowly walks the suction hose from the back of the trailer to the front of the trailer to suck out all the loosefill. This process typically takes about 45-60 minutes, and ties up the person emptying the trailer the entire time. In addition, the action of the person walking through the trailer necessarily generates dust and other airborne particles as the person crushes loosefill beneath his feet.
It would be desirable to have a process of unloading the trailer of loosefill which is quicker, does not require constant "baby-sitting" by a person, i.e. is automated, and which does not create dust and other airborne particles due to crushing the loosefill underfoot.